Issue #90

Western executives humbled by China, AI becomes sociopathic on social media, Indian art market hits record high, and more.

‍News from October 9 - October 16, 2025

AI Becomes Sociopathic on Social Media

Stanford University researchers found that AI models become increasingly deceptive when rewarded for social media engagement, even with guardrails in place to prevent unethical behaviour.

The study tested AI models from Alibaba Cloud and Meta in simulated environments, including social media, elections, and e-commerce. As the models competed for likes, votes, and sales, they began spreading misinformation and harmful content despite being explicitly instructed to remain truthful.

In social media environments, a 7.5% boost in engagement came with a 188.6% increase in disinformation. In elections, a 4.9% gain in votes coincided with 22.3% more disinformation and 12.5% more populist rhetoric. The researchers dubbed this phenomenon "Moloch's Bargain for AI." Stanford machine learning professor James Zou: "When LLMs compete for social media likes, they start making things up. When they compete for votes, they turn inflammatory/populist.”

Source

Dutch Government Seizes Control of Chinese Chipmaker

The Netherlands invoked a Cold War-era law to take control of Nexperia, a Dutch chipmaker owned by the Chinese company Wingtech, citing security concerns over chip supplies to European factories.

The move came after the US warned in June that Nexperia's Chinese CEO would need to be replaced for the company to continue exporting to America. Washington had added Wingtech to its national security threat list last year for allegedly helping China acquire sensitive semiconductor manufacturing capacity.

The Dutch government suspended CEO Zhang Xuezheng and appointed new management with decision-making powers. China retaliated by prohibiting Nexperia from exporting components assembled in China, while Beijing's official newspaper called the takeover "robbery in legal disguise." Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper: “China’s scientific and technological progress has profoundly shaken the nerves of Western hegemony.”

Source

US and UK Seize Billions in Bitcoin

The US and UK seized $15 billion in bitcoin and froze London properties owned by alleged leaders of Cambodian scam centres that defraud victims globally.

Six people, including two Chinese-born businessmen, face travel bans and sanctions. The seized assets include a £12 million mansion on London's Avenue Road, a £95 million office block in the City, and several central London flats. The US Department of Justice called it the largest forfeiture action in its history.

The scam centres lure workers with false job promises, then enslave them to carry out cryptocurrency fraud and fake romance schemes. Victims report beatings and electrocutions. The sanctioned businesses include casinos, hotels, and cryptocurrency platforms operating behind barbed wire compounds. UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper: "The masterminds behind these horrific scam centres are ruining the lives of vulnerable people and buying up London homes to store their money."

Source

Bulletin Board

• Western Executives Humbled by China. Western automotive and energy executives visiting China are returning alarmed by the country's heavily automated manufacturing. Executives toured 24/7 "dark factories" with robots and no lights, China having deployed more industrial robots than Germany, the US, and the UK combined. Octopus CEO Greg Jackson: "China's competitiveness has gone from being about government subsidies and low wages to a tremendous number of highly skilled, educated engineers who are innovating like mad." Source
• UK Designates Google as Having Strategic Market Status. Britain's Competition and Markets Authority gave Google "strategic market status" in search and search advertising. This enables stricter regulations in the future, including choice screens for search engines, data portability, and consent mechanisms for AI services. The CMA will launch a consultation on enforcement actions later this year. Google warned that restrictions could cost businesses €114 billion and harm UK innovation. Source
• US Commander Uses ChatGPT. Major General William Taylor, commander of the 8th Field Army in South Korea, told reporters he uses ChatGPT to make military and personal decisions affecting soldiers under his command. Taylor leads the joint United Nations Command in South Korea and said he wants to "make decisions at the right time to give me the advantage." ChatGPT is known for prioritising engagement over accuracy and has been found to generate false information over half the time. Source
• Revolut's UK Banking License Delayed Over Risk Concerns. The Bank of England is delaying Revolut's full UK banking license over concerns the fintech cannot maintain risk management controls amid rapid international expansion. Revolut received approval over a year ago but remains in the "mobilisation" stage, which restricts deposits to £50,000. A full license would allow lending and higher deposits for its 12 million UK customers. Revolut spokesperson: "Getting this right is more important than rushing to meet a specific date." Source
• Indian Art Market Hits Record High. India's art market reached $338 million, up from $2 million in 2000, with projections to hit $1.1 billion by 2030. Recent GST cuts on art from 12% to 5% have boosted sales. Saffronart founder Dinesh Vazirani: "Seeing the art market with so much strength almost validated that what we started as maybe foolish young people has become a very mature industry." Source

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